DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! We’re a few days late, but we have a gift for you! New breakfast links!

Head-Roc’s Mouth: “Umoja on U: A Kwanzaa Celebration” “Sunday’s event is called “Umoja on U: A Kwanzaa Celebration,” and for me it represents an earnest, sincere, and knowledgeable attempt to, for at least one day, restore the magic and glory that once filled the Lincoln Theatre’s great hall with expressions of what I like to simply call: Black Love…In their heyday, black entertainers were banned from playing the coveted Broadway entertainment strip in New York City. and right here in D.C. is where we built and managed our own “Black Broadway”…” (Washington City Paper)

Wards of city held in burglary in toney NW neighborhood “The thwarted burglary attempt stands out for adding to the emerging trend of youths under the supervision of DYRS traveling from crime-ridden parts of the inner city to commit robberies and burglaries in suburban and affluent parts of the city and surrounding counties – sometimes with deadly consequences. In October, Deandrew Hamlin, 18 and a DYRS ward, was arrested in the District and charged with driving a Jeep stolen from Sue Ann Marcum, an American University professor found dead in her Bethesda, Md., home in what police say began as a burglary attempt. So far no murder charges have been filed.” (Washington Times)

The plight of the high school homeless “…when he left campus, that veneer disappeared. Brewer, 18, slept at a bus stop in Reston and kept his belongings in a garbage bag hidden behind a bush. After his grades started slipping and a teacher caught him dozing off in class, the ugly story tumbled out. Homelessness had come as a swift, unforgiving series of blows. First, his parents, whose marriage had imploded, disappeared. A few days later, Brewer came home from school to an eviction notice posted on the front door. Suddenly, he was one of a growing number of teens without parents, guardians or reliable shelter in one of America’s richest communities.” (The Washington Post)

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Good morning, DCentric readers! While you were out doing last minute shopping, we were in, doing last minute bookmarking (it’s how we gather your links)! Enjoy:

Death outside DC9 is ruled a homicide by medical examiner “Marc S. Micozzi, a forensic pathologist who teaches at Georgetown University and is not involved in the case, said in an interview that the medical examiner’s office apparently determined that Mohammed’s heart gave out for several reasons…He said alcohol intoxication and the physical exertion of struggling with five men trying to restrain him might have caused further problems by overstimulating his heart. “Excited delirium” generally describes a highly agitated mental state, Micozzi said.” (The Washington Post)

Fenty moved $495k from jobs training to severance packages, councilmen say “A Fenty spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both Browns asked that Fenty find another source to compensate his political appointees that does not require spending dollars from the cash-strapped city. “In the midst of our current job crisis, how can the mayor begin to justify removing resources that are aimed directly are preparing residents for sustainable employment,” Michael Brown said in a statement.” (Washington Examiner )

Did the recession prevent teen motherhood? “The recession is everyone’s favorite causal explanation for things happening right now,” said Rachel Jones of the Guttmacher Institute. “Other than people conjecturing, there is no evidence that the recession has had a direct impact on teen sexual behaviors.” What we do know, however, is that contraceptive use increased among teens between 2007 and 2009…Bill Albert of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy shared my initial skepticism about the economic explanation: “I just simply do not know many 16-year-olds who are thinking about bank statements when they hop in the sack.” (Salon)
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